Emily pooped on the floor again today. Now we're hypothesizing that she's doing it as a way to gain attention, finally realizing that Hope is here to stay. She doesn't seem to care that the attention she is garnering is negative. She seems quite happy to be in trouble, as long as we're focussed on her.
So, we're strategizing on ways to deal with this but haven't come up with anything ground breaking. We want her to know that what she is doing is wrong and we're really unhappy about it but we also don't want to reinforce this behaviour by giving her what she is trying to get: lots of attention. The thing is that we do give her lots of attention - I try to be quite sensitive to the fact that she notices me cuddling or cooing with Hope and when she is there, I give her lots of hugs and talk to her and, of course, when I'm not having to feed or hold Hope, I'm playing with her. Really, I can't give her more attention than she is already getting. So, I would love to hear your ideas... or maybe, this will just pass? Ooh, bad choice of words.
So, today I took the new stroller for a spin, just with Hope though since Emily chose to watch Curious George instead. Given that it was about minus 15 C today maybe that was wise. Anyway, the stroller is great, but I found out that it won't fit through the door of our closest grocery store. The store is older and has traditionally sized doors, not those huge mothers that both slide open as though I'm entering the Death Star. So, I'll just start carrying my bike lock with me so I can leave the Chariot outside. Probably wise anyway... I don't really want to be one of the SUV stroller people that everyone whispers about and curses as I push my way through the frozen food section.
Tomorrow I'll try it out with both ankle biters and head to the library. I know Emily will love riding beside her sister. Here's hoping that she keeps the Chariot a poop-free zone. I'm pretty sure that would void the warranty.
4 comments:
I have no advice, but I will send positive thoughts that the floor-pooping ends immediately. Maybe search for "pooping on the floor" and hope for the best?
My only thought is that maybe there's something special you can promise Emily that she only gets when she goes poo on the potty. That way the only way she gets it is if she fulfills her responsibility, and it reinforces the positive behavior. Just a thought...signed, J's other wife
hi karen,
i'm not commenting on the poopy floor issue -- there but for the grace of god.....
but, I did want to mention that in this hyper-freezing weather, bike locks may freeze shut. this has happened to us a few times already these last few days. just a heads up. hope you are enjoying the new machine!
jen
When Abby went through something similar I would have her clean up the mess herself. When I noticed the problem I wouldn't make a huge deal of it, more like oh you've made a mess I'll get you the stuff to clean it up. I realize Emily's a little too young to really clean up the mess herself as was Abby. I would just put the paper towel (or whatever) in her hand and we would clean it up together (my hand over hers).
I never yelled or got mad or even really acknowledged it beyond cleaning it up together. She wouldn't clean up the entire thing and I'd have to finish it on my own, but I felt like having her take even a little responsibility was important.
On the flip side we really made a huge deal about her pooping in the potty. She was and is a sucker for stickers so we made a chart for the fridge. Once she filled up a row we'd take her to the dollar store to pick out a treat. In the beginning I think we did 5 squares so it wouldn't take her too long to achieve her reward.
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